Cerro Rico

Potosi

The distinctive diamond-shaped mountain behind Potosi is Cerro Rico (Rich Mountain). It was described by the Spanish as the "eighth wonder of the world" and you can see why when you visit the mines where tin, zinc, lead and bits of silver are still being extracted after 500 years of mining. But the huge wealth it generated Spain and the UK came on the backs of a genocide of 8 million indigenous deaths.